Change
by BrokenFacades
Summary: Narumi never wanted to become a parent. Hell, he could barely take care of himself! But when Yuka came to him that day, all covered in snow and carrying a squirming bundle in her arms, he just couldn't say no. AU
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hi everyone! This is my second chaptered fict on here.**

**To all of the _Five Words_ readers: sorry that it has not been updated - FF has been really messed up for the past couple weeks (maybe it's just me?) and I haven't been able to use the site D;**

**I put up a poll by the way. Everyone go and vote!**

**Beta: chococookie-mallow**

**Rated T:** for slight language

**Summary:** "Why did you come here Sempai?" His voice was ice. Yuka stared back unblinkingly. "Narumi… I need your help." Three hours later, Yuka left. This time, she wasn't carrying the squirming bundle she had come with, tears streaming down her face. AU

OoOoO

**Prologue**

She didn't have anywhere else to go – anyone to turn to. Sensei was dead and Yuka needed help. So even though she swore that she would never return, Yuka Azumi walked up to the tall, looming black gates of Gakuen Alice that dark, snowy night. Clutching the squirming bundle to her chest, she snuck through the gates with Shiki and some inside help and trudged towards the boy's dorms.

Shiki stayed back to watch for any signs of danger and told her that he would call her if anything went wrong, but she knew that it was because he knew that Yuka needed to do this alone.

Yuka pushed the door to the boys dormitories open with a shiver, shaking off the cold snow caked all over her face and clothes while checking to make sure that none had gotten on the bundle. She wiped off the little that had with caressing fingers.

A low whine of discomfort was heard from it and Yuka cooed to the thing in her arms, telling it to be quiet and wait.

As she walked through the dark hallways towards the room that she had come to so often to almost a year prior to now, Yuka rubbed some warmth into her numb limbs, humming a soft lullaby that she remembered her mother singing when she was a little girl all the while. When she reached room number 459 she froze and took a deep breath.

Yuka knocked.

And then she waited.

Moments later a light thud was heard following muffled curses and the sound of a light switch being flipped on. She held her breath as she heard the door being unlocked and the handle turn and then the wooden door swung open and tired jade eyes met slowly widening violet.

"Sempai!" the teen at the door hissed in surprise that was quickly turning into anger. He was dressed in a plain white t-shirt with fleece pajama bottoms. His shoulder length blond hair was pulled back into a small ponytail at the base of his neck, a few strands of hair escaping from it and falling into his face.

"Hello Naru," Yuka greeted softly, pulling down her hood. Long strands of brown hair fell down around her shoulders and the runaway tried to smile at him but couldn't manage it. She was too chilled and too tired and just too… overwhelmed. "I-"

"Go away." Muttered Narumi, pain and hesitation coloured his tone.

Narumi tried to close the door on her, eyes cast in shadows, but a frostbitten hand held the door open before he could shut it completely.

"No!" she cried desperately. "Narumi, wait! Just hear me out. Please."

Violet eyes widened slightly in surprise at the pleading in her voice and Narumi swallowed tightly as he was forced to make an agonizing decision.

A keen mewling sounded just then and his blond head whipped down to see his sempai whispering and rocking and cooing to a mass wrapped in a soft looking pink blanket.

"Oh, It's okay sweetie," she murmured softly. "It's okay… go to sleep. Go to sleep…"

"Oh kami. Sempai no. Is that…?"

Biting her lip, Yuka looked up to her kohai with eyes that hoped desperately for him to understand. She was shivering and pale and looked so, so frightened.

"Her name is Mikan," she whispered hoarsely. "I… I named her. For sensei."

Yuka sniffled pathetically, Mikan whined, and Narumi sighed deeply. Painfully. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment before opening them and with it his door for Yuka to walk through.

"Sempai… come in."

OoOoO

The baby was lying in Yuka's lap, still wrapped snugly. Yuka's jacket and scarf were hanging by the door.

"Why did you come here Sempai?" the teenager asked, feeling extremely tired. Too tired to be angry with Yuka. Too tired to even be considering her request. But he was. And he hated himself for showing such weakness.

Nevertheless he didn't let it show that he still cared. His voice was ice.

"You know why," she told him softly, and returned his gaze unblinkingly. "Narumi… I need your help. It's getting dangerous for me. For my child. The elementary school principal is hunting me down and I have a target on my back that I just can't make go away. I'm going to join the AAO. If only as a cover, and it will be safer. But... an organization pent on destroying the academy and potentially starting a war? That's not the kind of place to raise a child." Yuka explained, looking down adoringly at the bundle in her arms.

He knew that she needed his help. But he couldn't do it.

"No. Just… no."

"Naru, please listen to me!" Yuka exclaimed, exasperated.

"Yuka Sempai, you listen. I haven't even graduated yet…" Narumi trailed off, staring into the distance

"You will soon."

"In six months! What the hell would I even do with a kid until then, huh?"

Yuka was silent and looked down with a pained expression.

Damn him for still liking her.

"Let's just say that I were to keep this… child," the way that her eyes lit up made Narumi want to cringe, "what would I say when asked where I got an infant from, hmmm?"

Yuka gave him an impish smile as she hugged her baby closer to her. She clearly believied in Narumi too much.

"You don't have the best reputation, Naru. What with your Alice and all…" she trailed off and he promptly choked on the tea that he had made for both of them.

The hot liquid burned his throat as he coughed and sputtered and Yuka shielded Mikan from the spray.

"W-what? Are you serious?"

Her silence was answer enough.

"That's crazy! And who would the girl be?"

Why was he even considering this?

"You'll come up with something. I asked Sensei's brother. Prinicpal Kazumi said that he would help with a cover-"

He cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Why doesn't he raise her?"

Yuka gave him a deadpan look.

"Right. The day that he agrees to raise a child would be the day that hell freezes over, wouldn't it?"

"Exactly. That and she would be in just as much danger because the ESP would try to exploit Mikan's connection to Principle Kazumi."

"But you never answered: what would I do with the-"

"Mikan."

"-Mikan until I graduated?"

"Ah…"

Narumi sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

What. A. Mess.

"You haven't thought that part through."

It wasn't a question but the Alice thief answered anyway.

"No. But you're smart. You'll figure something out," she told him and he had to suppress a laugh at this because she was clearly expecting too much from him.

He voiced his opinion and Yuka shrugged.

"I trust you."

He was a full-fledged idiot, Narumi realized because next thing he knew, he was accepting Mikan into his arms as Yuka explained how to take care of the infant, though she only seemed to know the basics herself. Soon, she was zipping up her thick winter coat and wrapping her scarf around her neck as Mikan slept soundly in Narumi's arms.

"You can't forget her naps because then she gets cranky and cries a lot and make sure to feed her really good food," she explained while pulling the hood of her jacket over her brown locks. "Principal Kazumi will pay for you to get everything you will need to get for Mikan including the cost of her living here – not that you can tell anyone that. If you need anything else, you'll just have to ask. He will probably schedule a meeting with you soon to discuss this. And I wouldn't plan on going to school tomorrow. Not yet. Oh, and Naru?"

The blond blinked.

"Hmm?" he murmured, looking up from the sleeping face of his new charge, wondering what it was this time.

Yuka's green eyes were soft and the heartbreak that she was feeling from leaving her daughter showed clearly.

"Raise her to be a sweet kid."

Narumi's voice was horse as he answered her, "I will." He had mixed feelings about this, because he still loved his senpai and hated seeing her this way.

Yuka smiled.

"Can I… can you give her to me for a minute?" she asked softly in a choked voice.

Narumi couldn't deny her this and looked away as Yuka held her daughter and tears began sliding down her face as she apologized to a person who couldn't even understand what she was telling her. But baby Mikan did know that something was desperately wrong when she awoke to her mothers wracking sobs and slowly her wails mixed with Yuka's own.

"I'm so sorry…" she whispered to her after she had finally calmed her down and Mikan had once more fallen asleep. She kissed her on the forehead before handing her back to Narumi.

"Here Naru," she told him with a melancholy smile. "She's yours now. You're a father."

He just took the baby from her and watched expressionlessly as she opened the door and left his room.

"Good bye, sempai," he whispered only after she was gone.

And with Yuka gone and Mikan sleeping, there was no one to witness that single tear that slid down Narumi's own cheek as his beloved Yuka sempai left for the second time.

**A/N: And we shall stop there ;D**

**Yeah... I wanted to write something different and as far as I am aware this is a first on the site. Tell what you all think! Did you like it?**

**Review!**


	2. Put A Lid On It

**A/N: I am very happy with the response to the first chapter! I'm glad you all liked it! Haha sorry it took so long for this update. I've been preparing for exams and all... And luckily they are now over! XD**

**Enjoy!**

**Beta: chococookie-mallow**

**Rated T:** for slight language

**Summary:** "Why did you come here Sempai?" His voice cold as ice. Yuka stared back unblinkingly. "Narumi… I need your help." Three hours later, Yuka left. This time, she wasn't carrying the squirming bundle she had come with, tears streaming down her face. AU

OoOoO

**Chapter 1: Put a Lid on It**

"Ah... I'm sorry for waking you up," Narumi murmured when he felt Mikan shift in his arms and slowly open her eyes to look around the room.

He was sitting in his bedroom and attempting to create some sort of bed for Mikan to sleep in on the right half of his own king-sized mattress. Apparently all of the moving around he had done while piling together pillows and blankets had awoken the babe and resulted in his previous words.

He wasn't too sure why he was apologizing to her either. It's not like she could understand him after all...

He shook his head and watched emotionlessly as Mikan looked around the room with that innocent curiosity that only babies had and the blond stared as he tried to decide which features Mikan had of Yuka's and which ones came from her father.

She blinked at him as Narumi held her up under her arms and inspected her face with narrowed violet eyes.

Mikan had large, sparkling hazel eyes that were currently staring at him in wonder. A small, chubby hand with flawless skin both smooth and pale as porcelain reached towards him as a wide, toothless smile broke out onto her face. The small amount of honey colored hair the baby did have was silky and shined in the light. She had Yuka's nose and her hair was, as far as he could tell, a mix between Yuka's auburn and Izumi's blond. The wide smile was Yukihara-sensei's, but all in all she looked just like his Yuka-sempai.

_'Sempai...'_

Narumi choked slightly and his grip tightened on the baby before him as he pulled her to his chest and cradled her as Yuka had instructed before she... left. Silent tears ran down his cheeks in a show of emotions that he would never admit to having.

In all honesty... he wanted to hate this child. She was the daughter of his first love and another man; a child who had been dumped in his lap all because he was too idiotic to say "no". But, listening to said child's gurgles and coos and watching that innocent face and that bright smile of hers, Narumi found he couldn't.

_'She's too... innocent to hate,'_ he thought softly to himself.

He flinched when a small hand found its way to Narumi's tear streaked cheek. Mikan looked up at him and tilted her head slightly to the side as she stared.

_Don't cry_, her gaze seemed to say, and the blond teen laughed slightly as he placed his much larger hand over hers and held it loosely in his grip.

_Almost as if she understands, _he smiled.

"Well..." he murmured to her, "I guess it's just you and me now: Yuka's child and I, a clueless teenager who's in way over his head."

Mikan just smiled.

He smiled back; he couldn't help it.

Narumi glanced over to his alarm clock. The glowing green numbers announced that it was eleven o'clock now and he sighed deeply, setting Mikan down into the nest of blankets he had put together.

"Time for bed," he announced and climbed underneath the covers. He flicked off his lamp and the room was submerged in darkness, the only sounds being that of Mikan's soft breathing and violent wind whipping around outside.

_I don't even want to THINK about tomorrow, _he sighed.

Mikan had fallen asleep once more beside him and violet eyes watched the snow storm raging outside his window with blank eyes before sleep overtook him and his mind was covered in a curtain of black.

OoOoO

Crying was what woke up Narumi that morning and he jerked up in surprise; twisting and falling out of his bed rather ungracefully onto the floor.

Any remains of fogged sleep that had been present before his fall were now swept away as his skin met the chilly morning air. The snowstorm had ended and the academy was covered in a thick layer of snow, leaving a wide expanse of white that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Stumbling out from the tangle of bedsheets and limbs, the teen ran to the other side of the bed where baby Mikan lay in a Narumi-made bed of sheets; wailing and screaming her lungs out. Said person winced, sure that the entire Academy would have been woken up by now if not for the fact that his room, like all 3-stars and higher, was soundproofed.

Clumsily, he picked her up and started turning her around, checking for injuries or whatever it was that had caused the tears. There were no visible wounds that he could see and the blonde was at a loss as to what was causing the waterworks.

"Ah!" he stumbled, panicking. "Uh- I mean-! What's wrong baby... er... Mikan? Mikan! Yes!" He said, disorientedly.

He stared at the infant as though expecting her to reply but her only response was another scream.

"Aw crap... what did Yuka say to do last night when this kinda thing happened...?"

He couldn't remember anything except that it had something vaguely to do with-

"Food!" Narumi shouted in triumph. "You're hungry, aren't you kid?"

Mikan just cried louder and the teen bit his lip, wincing once more at the volume.

"Uh... Right. I'll take that as a yes then..."

Baby in arms, Narumi ran to his kitchen and threw open the refrigerator door, searching for something to feed the babe.

"What do babies eat?" he asked himself but had no answer.

Searching the contents of his fridge, all that he saw was a half empty jar of peanut butter, two sticks of butter, some eggs, and...

"Ah ha!" he exclaimed and grabbed a white Styrofoam box from the fridge with one hand while slamming the door shut with his foot.

He sat Mikan down on the kitchen counter and opened up the box.

"Here! Eat this!" he ordered her and shoved a half eaten hamburger in her face.

Mikan went silent for a moment and Narumi internally cheered, thinking that he had done something right for once. The baby blinked large hazel eyes slowly before batting it away with a small, chubby hand. The crying resumed. Only it was louder than before.

Much.

Much.

_Louder._

"Wait whaaaat? No! Eat it dammit!" Narumi shouted desperately.

But she wouldn't.

"Gah!"

He picked up Mikan again and almost screamed when she started squirming in his arms and he almost dropped her.

"Wah! Hold. Still!"

A tiny fist hit the blond in the face.

"Do you _want_ me to drop you?" he questioned rhetorically, gritting his teeth and trying, but failing, to get a better hold on her. "This is _so_ not working." He hissed to himself. "I don't know how to take care of kids! No one my age does! Except for a _girl _maybe. Or Misaki. He _is_ weird like tha-"

He broke off then, violet eyes widening.

"That's it!"

And with that, the teen dumped Mikan into a large, clean cooking pot that had been sitting on the stove (because it was easier than trying to actually carry the squirming mess of tears in his arms) ran barefoot out the front door, baby in er... pot.

But not before putting a lid over it.

The sound of crying was muffled slightly and Narumi breathed a sigh of relief.

OoOoO

_BANG BANG BANG!_

"Oi! Misaki!" Narumi shouted at the top of his lungs. "Open up! NOW!"

His breath was harsh from having run up two flights of stairs as Misaki lived on the third floor as opposed to he who lived on the first; cheeks red from heat (oh the irony considering that is was freaking winter outside) as he waited outside his friend's door. He was holding the pot Mikan was in his right arm and attempting to break down the door with his left. Mikan was still crying loudly and the blonde cracked the lid open to shush her when the door slammed open.

"What the hell do you- is that pot crying?" Misaki, asked with wide eyes.

"Misaki!" Narumi cried in relief, shoving the shrieking pot towards the immensely confused raven. "Make it stop! _Please_ make it stop!"

"Make it stop...?" he murmured in confusion, accepting the pot warily. It continued to shake and wail in his arms but something about the cries was familiar to him...

He cracked open the lid.

"_Waaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!_"

The piercing scream startled the Alice so much he almost dropped the pot before he could get a good look at what was causing the racket.

Inside was a tear-streaked, brown haired, hazel-eyed infant that was very very upset.

Misaki snapped the lid shut.

"Narumi..." he growled. The blonde whimpered in fear. "What have you _done!_"

OoOoO

_Thirty Minutes Later_

"And you _accepted_?"

Misaki was incredulous, watching as his friend nodded miserably, at the end of his story and miniature pity-party.

They were sitting in his living room, Narumi on the couch and Misaki in his favorite chair. A small coffee table separated them, where the shiny pot lay.

"I had to..." Narumi mumbled into a cup of tea and looked up from under thick lashes to where the now calm infant lay.

Baby Mikan was sleeping in the apparently capable Misaki's arms, peaceful and looking absolutely adorably innocent.

Narumi nearly laughed at the thought. That child was anything thing but adorable - not with the fit she had been throwing just twenty minutes before...

In the end, it turned out that Narumi's blind guess was right and she was hungry and apparently hamburger was not the correct food to feed the baby in the slightest. Milk was.

_'How the hell does Misaki know this stuff anyway? And why does he have formula...?'_ he wondered.

He was probably better off not knowing.

"Narumi..." Misaki said slowly. "How are you going to do this? You- you're just a kid."

The blond sighed deeply and set down his cup, running a hand through his disheveled locks.

As brown eyes studied him, Misaki thought that his friend looked defeated.

"I don't know," Narumi admitted. "But I'm going to have to figure it out. Soon. I promised Sempai I would."

Misaki sighed loudly then and looked down at the sleeping infant in his arms.

"Well, you're going to need some help, obviously. I mean, really? A hamburger? And sticking her in a pot of all things? Who _does _that? Face it. You're hopeless with children. I pity that Mikan will grow up with someone like _you_ as a father."

Narumi ignored the insults and looked at his friend with something akin to hope.

"Misaki...?"

"Idiot. I'm going to help you out. At least until you can learn to take care of her by yourself that is... But first things first we need to go buy all of the necessary things to take care of her. You said that you were going to have a meeting with Principal Yukihara soon?"

Narumi smiled widely.

"Yeah."

"Good. We can get him to give us money and order some things."

Misaki smiled lightly in return before looking at Mikan again.

"So..." he said eventually. "What _do_ you know about babies anyway? Do you even know how to change her diaper?"

Violet eyes blinked.

"Babies have diapers?"

"..."

"..."

"Idiot!"

"Ow! Hey! I'm sorry! No reason to throw things at me! Ouch! Or hit me!"

"No reason to hit you? Your level of complete and utter idiocy is reason enough! How could you not know that babies need diapers anyway! I guess I should have expected this from you!"

"Tea _burns_ you jerk! At least throw something not filled with boiling liquid! And I-"

"_Waaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"_

"Not again!"

"Narumi you idiot! It's because you were shouting!"

"Look who's talking!"

_"Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"_

"Turn it _off_!"

"I'm working on it! C'mon Mikan-chan... Shh..."

"It's not working!"

"Calm down..."

_"Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"_

"!"

"..."

"..."

"Narumi?"

"Yes?"

"Go..."

"Hm?"

"Grab the pot!"

"I thought you'd never ask."

OoOoO

Somewhere in the world, an auburn haired woman laughed loudly.

"Yuka...?" Shiki asked softly. "Is something funny?"

"Ah. Haha- no I, uh- hehe! I just thought of something funny is all," she confessed with a small smile.

Shiki quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Well, the image of Narumi and Misaki not knowing what to do with Mikan-chan just came into my head. She was crying and they couldn't get her to stop and the-" She cut herself off as she tried to muffle her snicker. Shiki caught only a few words more that sounded strangely like "cooking pot" and "lid" as Yuka was dissolved into giggles.

He was confused, but smiled anyway. It was nice to see her in a good mood. Ever since she had left her daughter in that place... well... she was depressed to put it simply.

"Oh," Yuka said suddenly, no longer laughing.

Shiki blinked at the sudden change in moods.

"What?" he prompted.

"If they ever _did_ put my little angel into a pot at put a lid on it," she cracked her knuckles and glared, "I would _kill_ them."

Back in Tokyo, Narumi and Misaki sneezed.

OoOoO

Narumi sighed deeply and was echoed by Misaki moments later.

Mikan lay asleep in the cooking pot, the lid for said pot lying on the coffee table.

"How can something so small be so loud...?" Misaki wondered incredulously.

The other teen snorted.

"That's what _I'd _like to know... I mean - she's the size of a stuffed animal but is louder that a freaking elephant! Don't they have mute buttons for them somewhere?"

"Amen."

Another sigh.

"So..." the raven said slowly.

"Yeah I'm not going to school today."

"... Me neither."

"That's what I thought."

Violet and brown stared at the metal pot.

"That has to be the best mute button we have," Narumi said decidedly.

"Indeed it is..."

"..."

"..."

"Shall we name it?"

Misaki grinned at the stupidity of it, yet nodded his head in agreement.

"Let's."

"How about... the Mikan Pot. Or something."

"The Baby Shutter-upper?"

They stared at one another.

"Misaki... that's a horrible name."

"..."

"Mikan Pot it is!"

"I feel like we should get it engraved now..."

Narumi laughed and tapped his fingers lightly across the metal surface of the newly dubbed Mikan Pot.

"I have a feeling that we are going to use this a lot in the next few months."

"Years."

"Years," the blond agreed. "Only..."

"What happens when she outgrows it?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm..."

"Say, Misaki..."

"What?"

"Do you think a toddler would fit into one of those big metal trash cans they use in the kitchens?"

"The one's with the locking lids?"

"That's the one!"

"... I think you might be onto something..."

They grinned at one another before the blond paused, wrinkling his nose.

"Wait," Narumi breathed, his face twisting into an expression of disgust. He sniffed the air. "Do you smell that?"

"Smell wha- oh! Gross. Where's that coming from- oh no..."

"What?" Narumi asked frantically. "What is it?"

Misaki looked at his friend gravely.

"You know how babies need diapers and all?"

"Yeah?"

In her pot, Mikan began to wake up, soft sobs that were slowly gaining in volume rising from its metal depths.

"Well..."

"Yeah...?"

_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

"Get ready Narumi!" Misaki shouted, lifting the baby out of the Mikan Pot and throwing her at a panicky blonde.

"For what!"

He caught the baby in his arms, grimacing at the foul smell surrounding her and wincing at the volume of her cries.

"To change your fist diaper!"

Narumi swallowed.

Yuka was so lucky that he said yes.

**A/N: Yeah. Please don't ever put babies into metal containers of any kind no matter how annoying they are, k? ;D**

**Nahahaha...**

**Yeah. I really do think those two would end up doing something this insane - they're teenagers. What do they know about caring for children? ;D**

**And if Misaki (anyone know his last name btw?) was too OOC for you my excuse is that he is a teenager still. That and this is FanFiction so... ^^**

**Review if you want more~! ^^**


	3. Life Sucks

**Uh... hi everyone. This... is not what you are going to want hear, but my dad... last night he was killed in a car crash. A drunk driver hit him head on and, well, I'm sure you can fill in the blanks. The bastard who hit him... he escaped relatively unscathed all except for a small cut on the side of his head. And I ask: why is it that the innocent people have to die? My dad didn't do anything wrong, so why did he have to be the one to end up being buried?**

**I apologize to anyone and everyone that was expecting this to be a chapter or an update but honestly? I just can't write right now and I need some time. **

**I am going to be on haitus for an undetermined amount of time. **

**Not too long - just enough to... take everything in and... Just- ... I'll be back, okay?**

**~Luna Noroi**

**OoOoOoOoO**

_**Kei Noroi**_

_** RIP**_

_** 1-26-2011**_


	4. The Horror Known As Children

**A/N: I'm back! Ugh... that took so long... Because first I didn't have the motivation, then I was too depressed to write anything that didn't turn into major angst and sadness, and by the time I was ready, it was a bit difficult to get back into the story... So... Enjoy, I guess :)**

**Points to Andrasta14 for your review to chapter 1 by the way. I LOVED the length and it made me smile when I read it. This chapters kinda crumby but it's for you ;)**

***Warning: _totally_ not beta'd**

**Rated T:** For slight language

**Summary:** Narumi never wanted to become a parent. Hell, he could barely take care of himself! But when Yuka came to him that day, all covered in snow and carrying a squirming bundle in her arms, he just couldn't say no. AU

OoOoO

**Chapter 2: The Horror Known as Children**

It had been a week now since Narumi had taken in Mikan and the Mikan-Pot had been very helpful over the past seven days. The blond was (slowly) learning how to take care of Mikan though he was very very _very_ far away from being the perfect dad. _Very far away_. As in, like, _Jupiter_ far. Or maybe Pluto. Yes. Pluto...

Said blond blinked suddenly and looked around himself, getting the feeling that someone was currently dissing his severely lacking parenting abilities though he had no clue why. He then shrugged it off and went to go pick up Yuka's- no. _His_ daughter who was currently sitting on the living room floor, playing with some toys that he had purchased a few days earlier. The infant protested when he took away the stuffed elephant from her, but, shoving a pacifier in her mouth, she was quickly silenced.

Over the past week, horror filled though it may have been, Narumi had grown fond of little-miss-Mikan and he belatedly realized that his like for her was growing every day. The child cried and screamed and_pooped_ and had to have so much attention all of the time, but there were moments - like when she would latch onto his finger like it was a lifeline or smile at him like he was the most amazing thing in the world - that melted his heart and made it all worth it.

Violet met hazel and Narumi stared at Mikan for a moment.

"We," he informed her with a small smile, "are going to see the principal of the high school division today! Aka: _your _uncle, missy. He's gonna help me figure out what the heck to do with you."

Slinging a coat over his shoulders and wrapping a blanket completely around Mikan and her head, he continued chatting even as he stepped outside his door, took the short walk down his hallway to the exit of the dorms, and into the cold morning air.

It was on the third day that Narumi had started talking to Mikan just to talk to her, even though she didn't understand a word. Yet. Apparently Misaki had done some researching and learned that it was good to talk to a child a lot because it built their vocabulary and made them smarter in general - "But she can't even _talk_ yet!" "Do you want to raise a stupid kid? Just do it!" - and so he had ever since.

Boots crunching through the large amounts of snow covering the ground, Narumi continued talking and Mikan just watched him with her huge hazel eyes, sucking on the pacifier in her mouth all the while. His face softened into a affectionate smile and he snickered at the look on her face as she studied him. He continued trudging through the white in the direction of the high school building when something caught his attention.

"Hey, isn't that Narumi? He hasn't been in school for a week now!"

Narumi's ears twitched.

"Yeah! Hey. Is that a _baby_ in his arms?"

"Huh? Oh my gosh it is! You... you don't think that it's _his_, do you?"

"Knowing him, it-"

There was a moment of silence followed by twin "eep!"-s of surprise when he turned a violet gaze on his fellow Alice's - two girls who he vaguely recognized - and glared at them.

"Is there a problem, ladies?" he hissed and both of the girl's eyes went wide and they began stuttering and rapidly shaking their heads.

"N-no Narumi-san!" one of them assured him. She had short black hair that ended at her shoulders and she glanced at her long-haired brunet friend beside her. "We... were just curious is all. I'm sorry!"

"Hn," he muttered and began walking away.

"Wait!" called the girls.

He glanced back at them with irritated eyes.

"_What_?" he spat.

"W-we... were just wondering if... I mean, that is if..." stuttered the long-haired girl.

"She's mine?"

They both nodded their heads so fast it was a wonder that they didn't simply come flying off and Narumi smirked at the two before tilting his head and studying them.

Finally, "What of it?"

And with that he turned to walk away, not missing the two girls' loud whispers.

"Was that a 'yes' then?" whispered the short-haired girl.

"I- I think so..."

They stared after his fading form in wonder before a small blush rose on both of their faces. They glanced at one another.

"He may be mean to us, but. Did you see his face when he was looking at the baby?" asked the long-haired girl.

"Yeah! His expression was just so sweet..." her short-haired companion trailed off.

"I didn't think that he could make an expression like that until now."

"Me neither."

OoOoO

Narumi stumbled into the high school division along with a freezing gust of wind and a flurry of snow. He had tucked Mikan away in his jacket when the weather had suddenly gotten worse as he'd been walking and he didn't want the infant to get sick. Kicking the door shut with his foot, Narumi shook the snow off of himself and uncovered Mikan who was looking simply delighted at the snowflakes covering Narumi's hair and lashes if the hands reaching out towards it was anything to go by. She was just about to grab on to a lock of blond hair when he batted her hand away.

"It's cold," he informed her, "And wet. And that is not how I want you to be when we go see your uncle, got it? Besides, you could get sick."

Mikan pouted, her bottom lip sticking out as she glared a baby glare at him. Narumi snorted with laughter.

"Soooo not scary, brat," he informed her with a grin. "Try again in a few years. Like when you can actually walk and talk."

Mikan continued glaring at her blond guardian.

"Tch. Whatever. Let's just go, 'kay? We've got a principal to see."

OoOoO

To say that Kazumi Yukihara was an intimidating man would be an understatment. The principal of the high school division was a very imposing figure with sharp blue eyes and an expression that was almost always devoid of emotion, changed only occasionally by a flash of anger that passed by so quick that one would wonder if it was even there in the first place or - very, very ocassionally - an almost smile that was reserved only for those very close to him such as family.

Right now though, his expression was simply blank.

"You are Narumi-san, I presume?" he asked in a smooth voice once Narumi had entered his office and shut the heavy wooden door behind him.

The teen swallowed and shifted Mikan in his arms.

"Yes, principal-sama."

"Hm. Hand me the child."

The command had made Narumi's eyes widen in surprise at the suddenness - and rudeness - of the order and his grip tightened around Mikan very suddenly as he tugged her closer to his chest. He paused for a moment, wondering what that sudden stab of...something was that had come over him at the thought of giving Mikan away, even if only for a moment.

_'What's _wrong_ with me?'_ he asked himself with a frown.

"Here," he said aloud, handing Mikan to the older man carefully. "Make sure not to jostle her too much or else she might start crying again and I left the Mikan-Pot at home, so..."

Kazumi didn't even bother to ask what exactly a "Mikan-Pot" was.

Cradling the baby with an expertise that annoyed Narumi, he stared down at the child in his arms. She was very small.

Large hazel eyes immediately darted from the unfamiliar person holding her to Narumi and gave a slight wine of distress. Two pudgy baby hands reached out towards him as violet eyes stared back at her and Narumi shrugged lightly.

"Don't look at me," he told her. "I'm just doing what the guy told me to. He's your uncle by the way - the one I told you about on the way here. So pay attention to him for now. Not me. I'm sure that he's been looking forward to meeting you anyway, got it?"

Watching the two, Kazumi's eyebrows rose.

_'He speaks to her as though she can understand,' _he observed and watched how Mikan immediately turned her gaze to the principal after hearing Narumi's words. _'And maybe on a certain level ... she can?'_

The babes eyes were calm as they studied the man in sight, and though Kazumi's only knowlege of children came from dealing with his - he winced slightly - brother and the _Taking Care of Children for Dummies: Starting from Birth_ book that Himemiya-san had given him (which he has read two times now)...

_'This one is not normal.'_

"How old is she?" he asked Narumi.

He shrugged.

"Yuka never told me. So... 8 weeks? Two months, maybe?"

_'Definitely not normal.'_

Mikan was simply... too calm for a normal child - though maybe if he had known of her infamous tears his opinion would not be the same - and Kazumi knew that she would make life very interesting in the next few years to come. Whether this was a good thing or not, he had yet to determine.

But his thoughts were broken when a heard a small, content sounding sigh coming from Mikan and he looked down at her. Curious hazel eyes stared back at him and a tiny outstretched hand reached out to him. Kazumi held out a finger to her and Mikan latched on with a huge smile, taking the digit with both little hands and not letting go.

A smile curved his lips.

"You look just like your parents," he murmured fondly.

Mikan tilted her head at him, not understanding, and a chuckle clawed its way past the normally stoic principals lips.

"And those expressions are all my little brothers."

He looked to the only other person into the room after shooting another smile at Mikan and his expression became serious again.

"We will have to disguise her."

Violet eyes blinked.

"Why?"

"She looks just like Izumi and Yuka and nothing like you. People would know the truth."

It made sense, Narumi admitted to himself. Absentmidedly, he fingered a lock of his blond hair.

"How are we going to do it?" he asked finally. "We can't just continuously dye her hair or anything and then there's her eyes..."

Amusement lacing his voice, Kazumi asked, "Narumi-san, where are we?"

"Duh. Gakuen Alice. But I don't see how- Oh." He broke off and a proverbial lightbulb went off in his rather empty head. "Ohhhh...!"

"Exactly. I will get some Alice stones made that have the purpose of changing one's physical features. I'll have it made into jewlery of some sort for her to wear that cannot get easily removed."

"Okay," Narumi agreed easily.

"But for now..." Kazumi, though he didn't show it, reluctantly passed Mikan back to Narumi. "We will just use a simple necklace that I had pre-made with her in mind."

He walked behind his desk to take out a vibrant purple colored Alice stone attached to a short chain. The necklace was draped around Mikan's neck and immediatly her appearacne began to change.

Starting from the roots, honey brown hair began to lighten into a pure gold color exactly like Narumi's own. The small amount of hair that Mikan did have lengthened slightly and gained more of a wave to it. Her facial structure began to morph next, and before he knew it, Narumi was holding what looked to be his female, baby double.

Mikan blinked eyes that had turned into a startling shade of purple.

"Oh," Narumi gasped softly, examining the changes. "Wow. She looks..."

"Just like you," Kazumi finished.

"Yeah."

"..."

"Huh. That is _so_ weird."

Mikan glared at him.

"_What?_" he asked her with a frown. "It is!"

The baby huffed in annoyance and turned her head away from him.

"Oh _hell_ no. You are _not_ ignoring me, missy! You're still a baby! You can't start that until you're _at least_ thirteen!"

Mikan didn't even bat a lash.

Exasperated, Narumi turned to look at the principal of the high school division.

"Do you see what I have to deal with? This- This little brat? Aren't babies as young as her supposed to be... I dunno. _Baby-like?_"

He held her up as though trying to emphasize his point.

"Just look at the attitude that this kid has got," he continued loudly. "She can't even talk yet!"

Mikan gave an odd, hiss-like grumble then and violet eyes slid from blue one's to hers.

"_What?_" He snapped.

The baby stuck out her tongue at him and glared.

"Why you little-!"

OoOoO

OoOoO

Kazumi stared after Narumi's fading figure and hummed to himself.

"He has developed a strong bond with her at an alarming rate," he observed thoughtfully.

He briefly thought back to the protective look that had crossed the teens face when Kazumi had, er... _asked _to hold Mikan, and then to his violent reaction to his offer of getting a sitter for Mikan while the blond was in class.

_["No way! I'm not just gonna leave her with some- some stranger! No. I will take care of her myself, got it?"_

_The teenager glared at the principal for the mere suggestion, not caring that he was shouting at and being rude to one of the most important men in Gakuen Alice as well as in the country._

_Kazumi just stared at him, thoughtful._

_"Well?" he snapped at him. "Say something!"_

_The older man studied him with something akin to amusement on his face._

'He's become an overprotective mama bear in less than a week without even realizing it,'_ he thought wryly and had to suppress a grin. _'Yuka chose well.'

_Finally, "We will have to figure out an alternate means to care for Mikan, then."_

_"Tch. Of course."]_

Kazumi sighed and shook his head in amusement before pressing a button on his desk to page his secretary.

_"Principal-sama?"_ The soft voice of his secretary inquired.

"Ah yes. Mikoto-san, I need you to help me figure out a good way for Narumi to take care of Mikan while still attending classes as soon as possible. Also, have someone go shopping for clothes and such that would be suitable for an infant as well as any other necessary materials and supplies."

_"Of course Principal-sama."_

"And one last thing."

_"Yes, sir?"_

He frowned remembering something Narumi had casually referenced too when he first come to his office. Something about it... bothered him.

"Find out what a 'Mikan-Pot' is supposed to be."

OoOoO

OoOoO

Narumi was walking back to his dorm now, Mikan in his arms. The snow had luckily stopped, so Mikan was able to actually look around outside, though Narumi still had her wrapped up tightly in a blanket.

The sun glinted of her newly blond hair, making it look like she had a small halo.

Mikan saw a large snowman that had been made by a few elementary schoolers and giggled, violet eyes sparkling as her cheeks flushed pink from both happiness and the cold.

"This is going to take some getting used to," he muttered with a small frown.

She really did look weird.

Mikans smile abruptly dropped from her face then and she turned her head and glared at him.

Narumi stumbled.

"What the hell? Are you a mind reader or something now?"

Mikan just continued glaring.

He sighed in exasperation.

"Fine, fine! I'm sorry! You look great!"

Mikans scowl melted into a hundred watt smile then and she resumed studying the world around her.

How bipolar was that?

"Women..." he muttered.

Mikan snapped her head around and glared at him.

Narumi resisted the urge to hit himself in the face.

**A/N: A baby Mikan has _so_ many possibilities. Because hey: if she has a fiery attitude when she's 10, why not have one when she's an infant as well? Sure, maybe its weird, but, well... Mikan never _was_ normal was she? I love writing her XD**

**So... is there any chance that you guys will welcome me back by showering me with reviews? *is hopeful* ^_^"**

**I'm really sorry if this sucked (I feel like it did) but I'm still off in my writing. I'll probably edit this later... I still hope you liked this chapter though. I may be off but I worked hard on it :)**

**Review!**


	5. This is Totally Your Fault!

**A/N: I'm back! :)**

**Andrasta14 I think that I can safely say that I am in love with you. Your review for the last chapter... just WOW. I adored it and had this big, dorky grin on my face the entire time that I was reading it because I just loved you words _that much_. It was long and filled with commentary on multiple parts of the story, with some almost-predictions (which I love seeing because it's always fun to see what people think will happen) and... Well. Once again: this is your chapter ^^**

**Nearly 4,000 words this time! Woohoo!  
**

***Warning: _totally_ not beta'd**

**Rated T:** For slight language

**Summary:** Narumi never wanted to become a parent. Hell, he could barely take care of himself! But when Yuka came to him that day, all covered in snow and carrying a squirming bundle in her arms, he just couldn't say no. AU

OoOoO

**Chapter 3: ****This is Totally Your Fault!**

Principal Yukihara, the enigma of a high school principal at Gakuen Alice, stared at the report in his hands with wide blue eyes.

"This..." he murmured softly, reading over the contents of the paper for the nth time to see if what he was looking at was _really true_ and- "This is unbelievable!"

Pristine white pages crumpled underneath his fingers and carefully printed black ink was dented by crescent moons. The Alice threw them at his desk where they landed with a loud smacking sound before he sank into his chair with a long and weary sigh. He ran his fingers through his blond hair - once, twice - before letting them fall to his sides.

The reports contained sensitive information about a certain someone that, if discovered by the wrong people, _'Or rather one person in particular, really,'_ would lead to the painful death of one Alice, if not more.

When Kazumi had sent the investigation in... he had never expected something like this to return.

He had never expected that... that-! Narumi Anjou was sticking his adorable niece into a _cooking pot._

Yuka was going to kill _both_ of them when she found out. Narumi first for putting her in there in the first place, and Kazumi simply because he would be powerless to stop the other blond. Kami _knew_ that that boy was stubborn and the teen wouldn't give up his only way to mute the child any time soon.

In short they were screwed.

_'Narumi, you fool...'_

OoOoO

Said person sneezed twice and blinked, rubbing his nose.

"Maybe I'm catching a cold..." Narumi muttered to himself as he heated up a bottle of formula for Mikan.

She lay on her stomach on the counter, watching with large, interested violet eyes as he shook the bottle a bit and tested the formula on the back of his hand to make sure it wasn't too hot or too cold (Misaki had been so proud of him when he'd finally gotten the process down after four hours of practice).

"Seems good to me!" he announced to Mikan and scooped her up in his arms, shoving the bottle in her mouth soon after.

Three days had passed since his meeting with the HSP and Narumi was almost-kinda-sorta-but-not-really getting a hang of things. He had also worked out a plan so that he could attend classes while taking care of Mikan and would be returning to school the very next day.

His room was now littered with baby care things such as a changing table (he shivered) and wipes. Toys, formula, blankets, and baby clothes were also part of the mess and he realized that he needed to clean up soon. On Friday apparently an Alice from the Special class was also going to come and "baby proof" his home as he would be living there with Mikan for the next six months until graduation. After that... Narumi wasn't quite sure.

Adjusting his hold on Mikan, he walked out of his small kitchen and to his room where he sat on his bed: holding the bottle for her to drink from and waiting for her to finish.

He watched as the liquid drained from a bottle at a steady pace, Mikan not once stopping for air. He raised his eyebrows when she finished and looked at him for more food.

"You're still hungry?" he asked her in disbelief. "One bottle should be more than enough! Misaki said so and he's the baby expert."

Mikan just stared at him and kicked her legs a little in a show of impatience.

"Tch. Fine, fine."

He walked over to her crib where a pile of blankets and her stuffed elephant lay and set her there, stuffing a toy into her hands with the simple command to, "Play while I make you some more formula, you little pig."

Mikan scowled at the pig comment, but did start waving around the colorful plastic rings that he'd given her.

"I _still_ don't understand how that would be entertaining to anyone," he muttered as he walked back into his kitchen.

He had just begun heating Mikan's meal when he heard several tentative knocks on his door.

The teen clicked his tongue in annoyance and walked to his door. Glancing through the peephole he saw two fidgeting girls standing on the other side, still dressed in their school uniforms even though it was three hours after classes had ended for the day. One had short black hair, the other long brown and the two looked oddly familiar to him though he didn't know just why...

Just as one raised her hand to knock again, her short hair bouncing as she leaned forward, he opened his door and glared down at them.

The girls eeped and jumped back in surprise and began stuttering out a mess of explanations and excuses before Narumi could even ask what they were doing in front of his door. After a full minute of babbling - during which he learned nothing, by the way, because their words blended with each others as they spoke, creating a harmony of nonsensical noises - Mikan began crying loudly, no doubt annoyed and wondering where her meal was and the girls instantly hushed up, eyes widening.

He stared at them for a moment longer.

"I'm closing the door now," he informed them before snapping the mahogany rectangle shut.

He ran into the kitchen - the formula ready enough he told himself, desperate to stop Mikan's wailing before it got any louder - and then to his room where his... daughter (he was still getting used to that) sat wailing her little lungs out.

"Mikan!" he called, "look! I have your formula. So do me a favor and _shut up_."

The infant stopped instantly and watery violet eyes lit up in happiness. Mikan gave a toothless grin and began reaching for the bottle in the teenagers' hands.

"Unbelievable..." he muttered, slapping a hand to his face and dragging it down slowly.

He picked Mikan up and pressed the bottle to her lips.

"Drink up, you little monster," he said with a roll of his eyes.

Mikan did.

Narumi once again stared in belief and wondered just how much she was going to end up eating when she got bigger.

"You're gonna get fat if you keep on eating like that," he deadpanned.

From the look he got in return for his comment, Narumi got the feeling that if she had teeth, Mikan would have bitten him.

He looked at the floor for a moment.

_'When is she going to get teeth?'_ he wondered suddenly. _'Because I don't know what the hell to do with a teething baby. Who will potentially start biting me when I annoy her...'_

He looked at her again and Mikan returned a violet stare as she drank.

"What are you looking at Miss Piggy?"

Another "If-I-had-teeth-I-would-totally-bite-you-rawr!" look.

_'Yup. She's gonna be a biter. I wonder if Misaki knows what I-'_

Three tentative knocks on the door just like a few minutes before broke him from his thoughts and Narumi frowned.

"Are they _still_ outside?" he wondered.

Blond brows furrowed in confusion, Narumi walked to his door, Mikan in his arms, and swung the door open.

As he'd suspected, the girls were still there, looking at him and both offering nervous smiles, though their eyes kept on flickering from his face to little Mikan who was done drinking and now staring at them with interest.

_"Ohmygoodnessshe'ssocute!"_ he heard the short-haired girl whisper so quickly he barely understood.

_"I know! Aww!"_ the long-haired on responded similarly, letting out a light squeal of joy.

Narumi cleared his throat.

Two pairs of eyes shot back to him.

"Uhm..." the brunet began slowly.

Something told him that these two wouldn't leave without getting to ask or say what they had come for. Even _if_ they looked like a couple of girls with no backbones at all.

Sighing, Narumi opened his door wider.

"Come in," he told them with a groan.

"T-thank you!" The short-haired one said, and bowed slightly before entering the blondes domain.

OoOoO

They sat in his living room, Narumi having pushed aside all of the clutter and offering them a seat on his couch with cool detachment.

Mikan never left his arms.

He went through the motions of being a good host, even if these two girls deserved nothing in his eyes; offering them tea, faking interest, and not acting like a complete ass towards them even though he felt they kind of deserved it.

He didn't ask their names though.

He didn't want them.

They gave them to him anyway.

"My name is Riko Naozumi," introduced the one with black hair, smiling sweetly.

Narumi took this as an opportunity to actually _look_ at her for the first time instead of just taking in basic features such as the color of her hair and the fact that she was a girl like before.

Her hair fell in loose waves, he saw, and was cropped close to her head almost like a boys going just past her ears in places and sloping down her neck to almost reach her shoulders in others. She had bangs as well which fell across her forehead and were gently swept to the right. Her eyes were a crystal amethyst three or four shades darker than his own and almost looked black unless the light caught them just right.

She was pretty, he supposed.

To her left sat Naozumi-san's friend who also had a soft smile of her own and introduced herself as, "Zakuro Miasaki. We're both seniors like you."

With long brown hair styled in loose curls, a slight part on the left and milk chocolate eyes, she was just as pretty as her friend and Narumi found himself wondering what these types of girls would want with a guy like him. They didn't _look_ like the type to cause trouble, so why talk to someone like himself?

"You already know my name," he said simply to which both girls nodded. "Now. What do you want?"

They shared a look and Miasaki gave Naozumi a short nod.

"We wanted to see your child and know if we could do anything to help you," she confessed, eyes pleading.

He looked down at Mikan, who was looking at the two strangers with wide violet eyes that perfectly matched her fathers.

"She's beautiful," Naozumi murmured in awe.

He silently preened at the compliment – she did look like him now after all – but ignored it to think over Miasaki's original response.

_'There's no way it could be that simple. Are they trying to find a weakness or somethi-?'_

"No! No, no, no. It was because you looked so sweet when you were with her and we thought that it must be hard for you to be taking care of a child all on your own!" Miasaki blurted out before slapping a hand over her mouth.

There was a moment of silence as he processed what had just happened. His eyes narrowed dangerously and he tensed.

"You're a _mind reader_?" Narumi hissed in shock and anger.

He'd had one too many problems with them in the past and who knew what the girl may discover if he hung around her too much?

"I am _so_ sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"Get. Out."

"Narumi-san, _please_," begged Naozumi, intervening to defend her friend. "She has problems controlling what she hears sometimes and she's working on it, really. We just wanted to help, so-"

"Now."

"But-! But that's not fair!"

"It is."

Miasaki sputtered.

"It's not fair for me to read minds and not be able to control it yet it's fair for you to use your Alice on people to manipulate them all of the time?"

He snorted.

"Never said that it _was_ fair, stupid. Either way I don't need a mind reader picking through my thoughts, _accident _or not."

He sneered the words "accident" in a way to let them know that he didn't believe them at all.

Miasaki's eyes were rapidly filling with tears but Narumi coldly ignored them.

Mikan let out a soft noise of distress, feeling the tension in the room.

"Shh," he murmured to her. "It's okay kiddo. Calm down, those stupid ladies will go away soon and won't bother us any more."

"Narumi-san!" Naozumi gasped her amethyst eyes going wide, extremely offended.

He just glared at her.

"Why are you still here?"

"W-why are you being so ridiculous when we just want to help you?" she shouted.

"Because," he began, noticeably calmer as he rocked Mikan slowly – he didn't look at the other girl once – "I don't believe that _anyone_ would actually do something like that for a person like _me_ without any ulterior motives. Not only that, but one of you is a mind reader. So either spill it or _get the fuck out of my room like I told you to!_"

The girl in front of him hiccuped, tears spilling over as she shook her head slowly.

"We just wanted to help," she said through chocked back sobs.

_'They're crying from this? Keh. Too soft.'_

A sharp cry broke his vicious thoughts though and three teenagers all looked to an extremely unhappy Mikan.

Naozumi's lips rounded to make a soft "Oh…"

"Aww shit," Narumi cursed, realizing what the true cause of her tears was this time, the smell giving it away, and he shot the two dirty looks. "See what happened? Really now: go. I need to take care of her before she starts all-out crying."

"We'll help you!" they insisted together.

His eye twitched.

"Are you two really so dense that-?"

Another long wail and fat tears started steaming down Mikan's cheeks.

He growled in annoyance and snarled at them, not wanting to waste any more time trying to make them go away because, for god's sake, he had a baby to change!

"Fine. You-" he shoved a finger in Naozumi's face, "Go get some toys. They're in my room in her crib."

She ran off, short hair bouncing slightly as she went.

He turned to the only other person in the room.

"And you…"

"M-me?"

"You're going to help me with the hardest part."

Brown eyes went wide.

"What… what is that?"

Violet eyes serious he took her hand and began dragging her to the changing table pressed up against his wall.

"You're about to change a diaper."

Despite herself, the long-haired girl swallowed nervously.

_'Not so willing now, are ya?'_

They stopped in front of the table and he nearly threw Mikan down in his haste.

"Okay!" he said loudly and took a deep breath. He began to clench and unclench his hands slowly, preparing mentally for the task he was about to perform.

He sent a glance towards the girl behind him.

"Here's how it's gonna work: I tell you what to do, you obey. Got it?"

"Y-yes!"

"Awesome. Now, get me a diaper, the package of wipes, a trash bag, and a bottle of air freshener... Two bottles."

She began collecting the listed items and Narumi watched her with a considering eye.

_'Hmm, having someone to order around like this _would_ be helpful. Maybe-'_

As soon as his mind caught up to his thoughts, he blinked and slapped himself hard. Naozumi stopped in her steps at the sight, looking uncertain.

He winced.

"Uh..." the teen began slowly. "I, er, have the..."

She broke off and shrugged her shoulders to show the toys collected in her arms.

Narumi cleared his throat awkwardly, ignoring Mikan's crying for the moment.

"Thanks. Just... put them beside her for now."

He turned back to Mikan then and took another steadying breath. Flicking the pink skirts of the little dress that he had been given for Mikan to wear out of the way, he very, very slowly reached to take the diaper off the baby.

_'It's okay Narumi. You can do this!'_

Both girls watched him worriedly from behind.

He pulled the diaper off.

And all three off them stared in disgust and horror and stopped breathing because-

"Holy crap! Holy crap Mikan, you little imp! This is disgusting, ugh!"

He pulled the collar of his shirt (a plain white tee) over his nose and snapped at Miasaki.

"Give me the baby wipes stat and throw this _thing_ in the trash bag!"

She had a somewhat calm look on her face as she handed him the baby wipes and set down the other things he had asked for near his elbow for easy access. She _did_ pick up the soiled diaper by the tips of two manicured fingers however and he most definitely could hear her muttering a mantra of soft, "eww, eww, eww!" as she did so.

He nearly smirked.

But alas, he did not and taking the baby wipes he bit his cheek and-

OoOoO

"I blame you," he informed Mikan in a bland voice.

Narumi was laying on the floor, face down with a giggling infant sitting atop his bare back.

Two teenage girls his age and grade sat on either side of him, cooing and playing with the happy little girl.

He didn't bother trying to move to get her off of him.

He didn't have the will or the energy and if he did, he would potentially hurt Mikan anyway... so for now he would just continue laying here and maybe die, because diaper changing always disgusted and tired him out but this time was just... worse. So, so much worse.

Narumi turned his head slightly to give a tired glance at the wet t-shirt he'd been wearing thirty minutes before, draped over the side of the changing table. He was throwing it away once he got up again and wrinkled his nose at the pale yellow color that the front of it was now stained.

_'That little brat...'_

Miasaki looked at him a giggled at little. The other teen simply frowned in return.

_'Not funny,' _he thought sourly at her.

A little tilt of her lips told him that she thought that it was.

"If it's so funny, then _you_ can be the one to throw it away then," he scowled and told her aloud.

"Fine!" she agreed with a little shrug.

"Now."

Long brown hair shifted and slid across her shoulders when she tilted her head and shrugged a little.

"Okay."

The way that she ran to grab the ruined shirt, toss it in his trash, and drop right back to where she was only seconds before told him that she really did not mind and just wanted to spend time with the child sitting in front of her and on his back.

He strained to watch the two girls interact with his kid, both smiling goofily at her and making dumb faces to get a good reaction. They'd tied two purple ribbons in her hair and then proceeded to gush over how it matched her eyes and how she was "the prettiest baby ever!"

Something told him that the two idiot girls... had been misjudged. There joy and genuine when helping him out and now watching over Mikan was just too _real_ for it to be a lie. Now, it didn't mean that he would let them in or take up their offer on watching/babysitting Mikan, but...

_'Maybe having them come by some time to help out with stuff wouldn't be _too_ horrible...'_

He missed the secretive little grin that lit the mind readers face at his thoughts and the knowing look that Naozumi gave in response.

_'Just for a little while.'_

**A/N: Tada~ Kind of a fail chapter. I dunno... I'm still pretty off. School has started again as well and I'm sooo busy its sad!**

**Hopefully I'll update two weeks from now or maybe if I try really hard than I can make it a week. Who knows~? **

**Well, tell me what you guys thought! I really want to know. This is the first time for this kind of story to be on GAFF from what I know and I want to know if you guys like it or hate it, or... what?**

**I love you, all of my faithful readers. You all rock ^^**

**Please review!**


End file.
